Headlight control.



'R. E. HARTMAN. HEA-DLIGHT CONTROL.V APPLncloN man APR.21.191'6.

1,198,348. Pmenteasept. 12,1916.

l ofthe shaft collar, .'Fig. 6 is a top plan view y if...BEBEN'EDWIN-VAnTMAn, or enanas, "rnxnsg Specification of Letters-Patent.

Y 1 HEADLIGHT oo NTRoL. "f

.patetica sepa ie, isis.

l 4 4 iipiieation iiieiifainrii 21, 191e. sriai No. 92,648.

Be itknown tht I', REUBEN E'. HARTMAN,

jy acitizen oftheUiiitejd States, and a resident of Grange, the "cou'ntyof Orange and 'iState of Texas/ have inventedV a new and "usefulimprovement 1 in: 4.Headlight Controls, of 'the' @following is aspecification.

invention isfan improvement in head light controls, and has for itsobject to pro- 10` flights 'of a vehicle," to turn with the front videmechanifsmjforlconstraining the head wheels and in thefsame direction,wherein mechanism isy provided in connection with the mounting ofthehead lights for normallyholding them in straight position andfnfreturning them -tosuch position when .,fthe'ynhave"'been displaced,and wherein the connectionbetween the turning mechanism j fthelsteeringmechanism to move withinF limtswithout affecting the headl lights.

I means of a vsupporting bracket 5, secured tol `and'thesteeringmechanism is a lost motion 20` connection capable of'adjustment topermit 1 In thedrawings: Figure l is a partial top I plan view.ofen-automobile frame provided 25I `with the improvedI control, Fig. 2is a vertical section through the supporting shell or lsleevrfe of onehead lamp, Fig. 3 isa similar viewl 'of the shell or sleeve for theother head lamp, Fig. Lfis a section on the line of Fig.. 2, Fig. 5 is abottom plan view of the bearing collar or sleeve, Fig. 7 is a tion,vandFig. 8 is a top plan view` of the Seite.,v

The present embodiment of the invention is shownin connection with theframe 1 of Y an automobile, and the head lamps indicated indotted linesinFigs. 1 and 2 are supportedon shafts 2 and 3, respectively, the

v said lampsbeing secured to the -upper ends of the shafts in any usualor desired manner. The shaft 2 which supports the controlling `mechanismforboth head lamps is journaled in a sleeve or shell 4, which isconnected lto the frame of the vehicle by Vthe vehicle in .any suitableor desired manner and; embracing the sleeve or shell, as shown...v

The :shaft'extends through the lower end lof the. shell, ,and a bearingring 6 is arranged between the shaft and the shell at the lower end ofthe shell, the sleeve being held'in place by vscrews 7 or the like. Thisbearing ring has its upper end cut away to form oppositely arrangedbearing or cam surfaces 8, the'said surfaces inclining inwardly anddownwardly and meeting on va diameter of the ring. The ring is alsoprovided the cam or bearing surfaces, for apurpose to be presentlydescribed, and depending lugs 10 on a collar 11 secured tothe shaftcooperate with the bearing surfaces 8.v lThis collar 11 is secured `tothe shaftand turns therewith and the lower ends of the lugs are beveled1n opposite directions on a little ,sharper angle than the angle betweenthe bearing surfaces 8.

A coil spring 12 encircles the shaft between thecollar 11,' and a cap18, which is threaded on to the upper end of the yshell and engages theupper end of the spring.`

The shaft 2 is free to move upward in the shell when the shaft isturned, and-the lugs ride up on the bearing surfaces 8, but it will beobvious that the spring will limit the upward movement of the shaft andwill tend to return the shaft to the 'position shown in Fig. 2, that is,with the points of the lugs 10 in the angle between the cam surfaces 8.

The shaft 3 is mounted in a shell 4 similar to the shell 4, but havingits bottom closed and provided with a step bearing 14. The shell 1* isconnected to the frame of the vehicle by the bracket 5a and a cap listhreaded on to the upper end ofthe shell. A pin 16 is passed through theshaft just below the cap to prevent upward movement of the shaft, andthe shafts are connected by tween the shaft 2 and the steering mechanismor to the connection between the arms As is known, it is not desirablethat the head lampssshould swing with the slightest movement of thesteering mechanism or front wheels, since in such case there will be acontinuous jiggling of the lamps. For this reason a lost motionconnection is provided between the shaft 2 and the steering control, thesaid mechanism being adjustable to vary the extent of lost motion. Thisconnection is. shown' more particularly in Figs. 2, 7 and 8, wherein theshaft 2 is pro vided witha radial arm 20, the arm having a bearing 21embracing the shaft. The outer end of the arm is provided with a bearing22 and intermediate the ends of the arm an arcuate guide-way 23 isprovided extending transversely of the arm. A second arm 24 is pivotedto the outer end of the arm 2O by means of abolt and nut 25, the boltbeing passed through the arm and through the bearing 22 and engaged bythe nut above the bearing. The arm 24 has a laterally extending head 26at its outer end which engages the guide-way, and it will be evidentthat the arm 24 may swing with respect to thearm 20 within limitsprescribed by the length of the guide-way. The guide-way is 'as beforestated, arcuate and has the bolt 25 for its center.

That end of the arm 24 remote from the shaft 2 is provided with a ball27 for connection with the connecting rod to be described, and lsetscrews 28 are threaded through the ends of the guide-way for engagingthe head at either end of the guideway to permit the extent of movementof the arm 24 to be adjusted. Each set screw is engaged by a lock nut`29 to prevent displacement thereof, and it will be evident that byturning the screws the extent of lost motion between the arms 20 and 24may be varied. The ball 27 engages a socket 30 on one of the sections 31of a connecting rod consisting of the section 31 and a section 32, whichare connected at their adjacent ends byia sleeve 33. These sections areoppositely threaded as are also the opposite ends of the sleeve and byturning the sleeve in the proper direction the sections may be adjustedtoward and from each other. 1

The section 32 is connected to the steering lever arm ley-means of asleeve 34, which is adjustably mounted on the arm andl connected to thesection 32 in any suitable or desired manner. The elements 8 and 1 whichmay be consideredas ooperating cam blocks'are designed to-permit aturning movement of approximately 90 degrees lin either direction, butsince the colar 11 and the shaft must shift during this turning movementin either direction the spring will be compressed and the expansion ofthe spring when the shaft is released will return the parts to normalposition. The groove 9 is to prevent flattening of the lugs 1U,

that is, to prevent wearing away the apices of the said lugs and tocompensate for wear, and the elements 10 may be easily re-shaped whenthey `become worn. The sharper angle of the lugs 10 insures a bettergrip, and holds the head lamps steady.

In use, when the steering lever arm 37 is moved in either direction bythe steering mechanism indicated generally at 35, the head lamps willnot immediately follow the movement of the steering lever arm and theywill not participate in this movement until the head 26v engages one ofthe set screws 28. As soon as this occurs the head lamps will begin tomove in the same direction causing the rays of light to follow the road,and as the lugs 10 move over the bearing surfaces 8 ythe shaft 2 will belifted, the sprin will be compressed, and as soon as the whee s arereturned to normal position the spring will return the head lights tonormal position. It will be evident that the tension of the spring 12may be varied by turning the cap l between the walls of the groove, a.cap

threaded on to the upper end of the sleeve, and a spring arrangedbetween the 'cap and the collar. j

2. A lost motion connection for connecting the hea-d lamp supportingshaft of a vehicle with the steering control, and comprising an armextending radially from the shaft and having atransverse guide-wayintermediate its ends, a 'second arm pivoted intermediate its ends tothe outer end of the first-named arm and having a head engaging theguide-way, the outer end of the lastnamed arm being adapted forconnection with the steering control, and .set screws threaded throughthe ends of the guide-way for limiting the swinging movement of the arm.3. A lost motion connection for connecting the head lamp supportingshaft of avehicle with the steering control, and comprising an armextending radially from the shaft and havinga transverse guide-wayintermediate 'its ends, a second arm pivoted intermediate its ends totheouter end of the Virstnamed arm and having a head engaging theguideway,the outer end of the last-named arm'being adapted -forconnection with the steering. control.

tion, a sleeve 'or' shell for attaehment to a vehicle, a shaft journaledtherein and adapted to carry a, lamp, a bearing ring between the sleeveand the shaft at the lower end of the sleeve, a collar secured to theshaft above the ring, said ring having V:1. diametrical groove withplane side walls,

nd the lower end of the collar being beveled in opposite directions at amore acute angle than the angle between the walls of the groove, and aspring normally shaft downward, sald ring havmg the bottom of the groovedeepened.

REUBEN EDWIN HARTMAN.

pressing the 10

